JUICE-MAJIS Earth observations during the 2024 gravity assist: first analysis and comparison with PRISMA data
9 affiliations
- 1National Institute for Astrophysics (Rome, Italy)
- 2Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali (IAPS/INAF), Rome, Italy
- 3Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova (OAPd/INAF), Padova, Italy
- 4Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, CNRS/Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay CEDEX, France
- 5OSUNA, UAR-3281, LPG UMR-6112, CNRS, Nantes Université, Nantes, France
- 6School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK
- 7LIRA, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, 92195 Meudon CEDEX, France
- 8Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique, LMD-IPSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université PSL, Institut Polytechnique, Paris, France
- 9Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), Rome, Italy
Abstract
The JUpiter ICy moons Explorer spacecraft (JUICE) performed a Lunar-Earth gravity assist maneuver on 20 August 2024, during which the scientific instruments were turned on to test their functionality. In the time of the Earth flyby, the Moon and Jupiter Imaging Spectrometer (MAJIS) on board JUICE acquired a sequence of multispectral images over the Western Pacific Ocean at tropical latitudes. In parallel, an observing campaign was also conducted by the Earth-orbiting PRISMA imaging spectrometer, with the purpose of validating MAJIS spectral observations with independent measurements of the same kind. These two datasets are here exploited to investigate and compare several atmospheric and cloud properties, including composition, temperatures, and atmospheric gravity waves. In the MAJIS spectral range, covering the 500–5560 nm wavelengths, we identified major and minor atmospheric gases, including O 2 , H 2 O, CO 2 , O 3 , CH 4 , N 2 O. Since MAJIS observations mostly covered diffuse cloudiness over the ocean, our analysis mainly focused on the discrimination of clouds' features and altitudes. We verified that ice particles are widespread in the data, allowing for an investigation of their properties (e.g. crystallinity) through different spectral signatures. The only land features identified in MAJIS data are not observed in daylight, hence only a thermal emission analysis is presented. Finally, the coverage of the 4300 nm CO 2 band enables the identification of high altitude structures, revealing the presence of several atmospheric wave packets, likely induced by convective events, or lightning strikes known to have occurred at the time of the flyby. The present analysis demonstrates how MAJIS data can contribute to the scientific investigation of an atmospheric environment, and provide the first benchmark in the analysis of water ice, whose characterization in the Jovian system will be of primary importance for the JUICE mission.
Related
- Juice/SWI during the Lunar-Earth-Gravity-Assist (LEGA) – Part 3: Observations of the Earth as calibration target
- Juice-SWI during the Lunar-Earth-Gravity-Assist (LEGA) – Part 2: Instrument operations
- Juice/SWI during the Lunar-Earth-Gravity-Assist (LEGA) – Part 1: General overview
- Spectroscopic detection of terrestrial lightning from space by JUICE-MAJIS during Earth Gravity Assist
- Double Gravity-Assist Rendezvous Trajectory to Halley's Comet Using Deep-Space Low Thrust
BibTeX
@article{oliva2026juicemajis,
title = {{JUICE-MAJIS Earth observations during the 2024 gravity assist: first analysis and comparison with PRISMA data}},
author = {Fabrizio Oliva and Emiliano D'Aversa and A. Migliorini and Giuseppe Piccioni and François Poulet and Y. Langevin and G. Filacchione and M. Ciarniello and Sébastien Rodriguez and Benoît Seignovert and A. Mura and Leigh N. Fletcher and Sandrine Guerlet and Angelo Zinzi and M. Giardino and Ettore Lopinto and Giuseppe Sindoni and Christina Plainaki},
journal = {Annales Geophysicae},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.5194/angeo-44-511-2026},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05753546v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - JUICE-MAJIS Earth observations during the 2024 gravity assist: first analysis and comparison with PRISMA data
AU - Fabrizio Oliva
AU - Emiliano D'Aversa
AU - A. Migliorini
AU - Giuseppe Piccioni
AU - François Poulet
AU - Y. Langevin
AU - G. Filacchione
AU - M. Ciarniello
AU - Sébastien Rodriguez
AU - Benoît Seignovert
AU - A. Mura
AU - Leigh N. Fletcher
AU - Sandrine Guerlet
AU - Angelo Zinzi
AU - M. Giardino
AU - Ettore Lopinto
AU - Giuseppe Sindoni
AU - Christina Plainaki
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/23
JO - Annales Geophysicae
DO - 10.5194/angeo-44-511-2026
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05753546v1
AB - The JUpiter ICy moons Explorer spacecraft (JUICE) performed a Lunar-Earth gravity assist maneuver on 20 August 2024, during which the scientific instruments were turned on to test their functionality. In the time of the Earth flyby, the Moon and Jupiter Imaging Spectrometer (MAJIS) on board JUICE acquired a sequence of multispectral images over the Western Pacific Ocean at tropical latitudes. In parallel, an observing campaign was also conducted by the Earth-orbiting PRISMA imaging spectrometer, with the purpose of validating MAJIS spectral observations with independent measurements of the same kind. These two datasets are here exploited to investigate and compare several atmospheric and cloud properties, including composition, temperatures, and atmospheric gravity waves. In the MAJIS spectral range, covering the 500–5560 nm wavelengths, we identified major and minor atmospheric gases, including O 2 , H 2 O, CO 2 , O 3 , CH 4 , N 2 O. Since MAJIS observations mostly covered diffuse cloudiness over the ocean, our analysis mainly focused on the discrimination of clouds' features and altitudes. We verified that ice particles are widespread in the data, allowing for an investigation of their properties (e.g. crystallinity) through different spectral signatures. The only land features identified in MAJIS data are not observed in daylight, hence only a thermal emission analysis is presented. Finally, the coverage of the 4300 nm CO 2 band enables the identification of high altitude structures, revealing the presence of several atmospheric wave packets, likely induced by convective events, or lightning strikes known to have occurred at the time of the flyby. The present analysis demonstrates how MAJIS data can contribute to the scientific investigation of an atmospheric environment, and provide the first benchmark in the analysis of water ice, whose characterization in the Jovian system will be of primary importance for the JUICE mission.
SN - 0992-7689
SN - 1432-0576
ER -